Iconic Antarctica Catches Fire

FIRE! FIRE! Antarctica is on fire! A hut favoured by Kiwi explorer Sir Edmund Hillary is burning.

There’s been a fuel leak and when the heater is re-ignited – having been turned off to check to see if it was, er, safe – it caught fire.

The hut, known as the “iconic”, a timber and bitumen hut on the Ross Ice Shelf, is no more.

Says spokesman Lou Sanson:

“Fire is the biggest hazard in Antarctica. Earlier this season, two Russians were killed when one of their buildings burned down.”

Elsewhere:

Desperate to return home to his wife, a Kiwi endured freezing winds and driving snow for three days in an Arctic whiteout that claimed both his feet and a hand.

It’s Joseph Gibbon, 39, a contractor for the United States Government. He;s lsot in a white out:

Although he is a veteran of many winters in Antarctica and the Arctic, and had been researching how camps could be built to better survive the harsh conditions, he was unprepared for the disorientation caused by the whiteout.

Follow the orange lights…

Anorak

Posted: 25th, May 2009 | In: Media Comments (5) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink